The hotel accommodations and the staff were excellent. The room was excellent and the bed was very comfortable. I stayed here years ago and really enjoyed it. It is a shame that someone managed to build a condo building that blocks most of the ocean views from the rooms and the public areas. The restaurants are great (not cheap however) and the concierge had no trouble getting us reservations at some of the tougher restaurants around LA and Malibu. I liked it better than Shutters right next door and equally as well as the Loews hotel on the other side. I would definitely come back again.

This was our second stay at the Le Merigot (7/19-7/21) and ironically we had the same room both times, 527.

I have seen mixed reviews posted about this hotel and I can tell you that I have had nothing less than excellent service both times. The staff is overly friendly and accommodating. Every person we dealt with from the valet, doorman, front desk, concierge, housekeeping, bar and restaurant could not have been nicer. In fact I would say that as a whole, the JW Le Merigot staff would get my highest marks overall on any hotel I’ve stayed at in the past five years. This includes other Marriott and JW properties, every major hotel in Vegas, Hyatt’s, Ritz-Carlton’s, etc.

The hotel itself is very clean and very comfortable. The rooms tend to be on the smaller side with small bathrooms. I would say that this hotel falls more into a boutique style hotel than a full size JW Marriott for comparison sake. The room we stayed in had furnishings and amenities you’d expect to find in a JW Marriott including a flat screen HD LCD television. The balcony in 527 (one of the few rooms in the hotel that has a balcony) was huge with a table, chairs, umbrella and chaises.

As far as being located on the beach, hotels located on Ocean Ave (despite its name) are one block off the beach, including the Lowe’s which is next door. As you can see by my pictures, the view from the 527 balcony does have an ocean view but is partially blocked by the building on the beach front. But most of the rooms at the Lowe’s or Shutters Hotel have the same kind of obstructions. In fact the majority of rooms at all of the hotels have no view at all.

The hotel has easy access to the beach through a secured backdoor located below the pool. The Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach and the Third Street Promenade are all within walking distance of the hotel. People who felt they did not feel safe due to the numbers of homeless people found in and around the beach and downtown areas must not get out much. I felt much safer walking around Santa Monica at night than I would in NY, DC or LA.

While the pool and gym areas are small and there is only one restaurant, they reflect the small boutique style of the hotel. I can’t image being disappointed staying at the Le Merigot and I look forward to my next stay there.

I really enjoyed my stay at Le Merigot. I was concerned at first after reading a few reviews here and thought that maybe I would have been better off booking next door at Loews. That concern slipped away the moment I entered the parking area of the Marriot.

We were always greeted with a smile and "Welcome back" when ever we pulled in to valet. All the employees from the check in clerk, bell hop and maids were always quick with a smile. On leaving to tour the area we always had our car waiting for us with cold bottles of water to start our day.

The room was lovely. Very clean and comfortable and the beds were so warm and inviting. I had a 6th floor balcony room and the view of the beach was amazing!

Although the Marriot is a none smoking hotel, it was incredibly smoking friendly. Yes, some of us still do exist. So to find smoking balconies on each floor was quiet refreshing (usually you need to trudge down 6 flights to enjoy a cigarette. As well as areas on the patio deck where it was permitted. Far enough away from the anti smoking crowd for their comfort as well. This was not seen on a day visit to the Loews property for lunch.

The pool are was small. So if you did not get there early enough, the lounge chairs were hard to come by. The water was perfectly heated and the area was filled with sun.
The patio bar was Divine with cozy chairs and heating lamps at night. A great place to enjoy the fresh Santa Monica air.

I would definitely stay here again and recommended it to my mother who is heading there in September.

Dont stay at the Le Merigot, Santa Monica. Awful experience ! We have just returned from California and had booked two nights with the Marriott Santa Monica (June 26-28), making it clear that we had a baby and a child. Upon check-in (on June 26, after driving several hours from Monterey and before unloading all luggage from the car) the front desk clerk assured me a crib and a roll-away bed would be provided and sent us to our room. The room was large and spacious, with one king bed. But only the crib was brought up, so I called the front desk asking for the roll-away bed. I was then told that the room did not allow for both a crib and a roll-away bed. I asked for another room. The manager insisted that the room was very spacious and accomodated up to seven people, so it would be OK for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids. I asked him where he would accomodate seven people or our party of four in a room with one king bed and a crib OR a roll-away bed. He simply answered : it is up to you. And refused to send the roll-away bed. We decided to check out immediately. By the way, the hotel is considerably dated and overpriced. Loews next door seems much much nicer. We stayed at The Shutters on The Beach and had a great time. Would recommend it to everyone, especially families, since the staff is extremely friendly, the atmosphere, location and decoration unbeatable.
G and C Engel
Sao Paulo, Brazil